This archive report was first published on 15 June 2020.
On Saturday morning, a police chopper carrying a security team crash-landed in Kaithe, Meru, injuring at least six people.
According to Meru police commander Patrick Lumumba, the team was on its way to Marsabit for a security meeting.
The chopper narrowly missed two houses after crash-landing on a banana plantation.
Residents who witnessed the incident told The Nation that the chopper had been circling the area for about 15 minutes before it crashed.
Locals helped remove the passengers from the chopper, and the injured were rushed to Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital.
The incident occurred in the context of ongoing efforts to restore peace in Badan Arero, where a group of people from Marsabit had crossed into Wajir and stolen over 70 herds of cattle, sparking clashes between two communities.
At least four people had been killed in the clashes just a day earlier, authorities said.
Regional security teams and leaders had planned a meeting to reconcile the feuding communities and return the stolen cattle in the presence of regional security officers, local leaders, and community elders.
The crash evokes memories of a similar incident on April 10, 2006, when a military cargo plane carrying a high-level Kenyan delegation on a peace mission crashed in Marsabit town, killing 14 people, including six MPs.
